


Purity

by WTFGayLittleZooid



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, EMOTOPHOBIA WARNING, Metadede if you squint, Sickfic, Viva Piñata AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29995524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WTFGayLittleZooid/pseuds/WTFGayLittleZooid
Summary: Meta Knight and Kirby work together to take a chewnicorn, and accidentally fixing Meta Knight’s sour issue. Though it’s not a fun process.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	1. Award! You unsoured a dilf!

It had been a few months since Kirby had convinced Piñata Island’s infamous reaper to help him out in the garden occasionally. Or at least Meta thought so. His concept of time was just as shattered and lost as his memories. It was horribly embarrassing for Meta Knight, but there was something so unexplainably nostalgic to the tasks he’d lazily assist with. He didn’t understand it. 

Meta Knight’s attendance in Kirby’s garden ( _ which the kid had renamed to “Dreamland” _ ) had only increased since the last month. The young preteen suddenly got a strange obsession with a chewnicorn, one of the most valuable and prized piñata to ever exist on this island. 

(- _ “A chewnicorn, hm?” Meta Knight asked, watching Kirby enthusiastically nod their head. “...they symbolize purity in people. They are wanted by many, due to being expensive and incredibly rare. Only the best of gardeners can attract one. If I recall, they require the award for the Horstachio Master Romancer to appear. Gem trees draw them in, and about nine gems should be enough to convince them to stay.” _ -)

An assumed month later, and Meta Knight still wasn’t sure where he learned or had gotten that information. Compared to the rest of his memories, this was a faint light of the sun in a cruel unrelenting blizzard. 

And in that month, Meta Knight and Kirby had actually seen the purity of the chewnicorn themselves. It came from the waterfall, elegance radiating from its iconic horn. It had even strolled into the garden once, analyzing the half-grown gem tree that stood like a trophy in the middle of Kirby’s garden. It was taking a sip of the clear pond water the kid had dug themself, when Meta Knight came closer to examine it. 

He couldn’t explain it, but he felt… drawn in by it. It was an odd feeling; something so familiar to the way an ill piñata consumed his thoughts until he could only focus on relieving his mind by  _ breaking _ it until it’s candy was everywhere, yet despite the familiarity it felt more like the positive end of being drawn in by it. 

He didn’t know why he was so fixated on the unicorn piñata like he was with breaking one that was in suffering. 

Perhaps it was because him and the piñata were complete opposites. There were legends of it having the power to heal another sick piñata, which Meta was known for his brutal way of “fixing” a sick piñata. It was known for representing purity, while Meta was the bottom of the barrel for sours. It was  _ perfect _ . Meta Knight was a broken mess that was beyond saving. He was as far as one could go from  _ perfect _ . From  _ pure.  _

Meta Knight pressed his gloved hand against the black and white paper of the majestic chewnicorn, completely fixated on it and tuned out of reality. It’s ears shot up as it felt the touch, and ran off. Even as it fled in surprise, or maybe even  _ fear _ , Meta Knight’s eyes reflected a soft light blue in the sunlight. He gazed off at where it disappeared. His hand felt warm. It was strange, as his body was always a chilling temperature. 

He didn’t realize that he was staring off, completely out of tune with his surroundings, until a small hand attempted to yank him back into reality by grabbing his wrist. Kirby’s hand only passed through Meta Knight’s, which was enough to wake them back up from the trance. 

That wasn’t too long ago, and for the first time in what felt like a while, the chewnicorn was lingering outside of the garden. 

“Perfect!” Kirby whispered, trying not to alarm it in any way as they tapped the fully grown gem tree with their shovel. Nine gems fell to the ground and landed in the lovely green grass.

Meta Knight paid no mind to Kirby as they slowly walked away from the gems. Meta Knight stood more still than a statue as he got completely lost in the chewnicorn’s purity again. The piñata sniffed the grass that had been painted white to show the garden’s borders, before deciding to slowly cross over. Its ears perked up as it noticed the gems laid out for it, and it started to cautiously make its way to its treats. Meta’s body did not move and his eyes followed the chewnicorn as it stopped and started to slowly eat the gems, taking its time. 

_ Nine _

_ Eight  _

_ Seven  _

_ Six _

_ Five _

_ Four _

_ Three _

_ Two _

_ One _

_ Zero _

In reality, an hour had passed with the chewnicorn occasionally taking a break from snacks and deciding to take a small walk around the garden or to the pond, then back to the gems. It was rather boring for Kirby to watch, but for Meta it had only felt like minutes. He didn’t even notice it took breaks from eating the gems. 

Meta Knight didn’t come to his senses even when the chewnicorn’s black and white paper shifted to its pure colors, confirming it as a resident of Dreamland. Kirby was originally gleeful about this new accomplishment, running over to pet the unicorn, when he saw just how absent Meta Knight still was. 

“...meta?” Kirby quietly asked, trying to grab the reaper’s attention. They got no answer. The kid anxiously pushed back some of their hair as they debated whether or not to walk up to Meta Knight. Sure, he had some moments of being distant, but it was never this often nor severe. Before the kid could make up their mind, Meta Knight seemed to snap back to their senses and walk away. 

But they hadn’t. Meta Knight’s hand trembled as he became lost to thoughts he couldn’t process. He still wasn’t completely in tune to reality, yet he was looking for something. That same feeling of being drawn in started to emanate from a measly little lickatoad. He didn’t understand, but that didn’t stop him from continuing towards the napping piñata. 

Meta’s trembling hand gripped his sword tighter as he moved closer, and once Kirby recognized what the knight was doing, it was too late. 

_ WHACK _

The sound was harsh, loud, and seemed to echo throughout the garden. Thankfully, it seemed to snap Meta Knight back to reality as well, as they instantly dropped the sword. 

He stared at the lickatoad that had fallen over, paper tinted green as it fell to its side, ill, croaking in pain. 

Meta Knight started to take steps back, eyes widening as a horrible pain in his head grew and the cries of the frog became the only thing he could hear. That sudden drawing feeling came back, but now it was only the spiraling need to watch a piñata’s candy fly and watch its pieces scatter. 

“Get… get the fucking chewnicorn,” Meta Knight growled without thinking. He held his hand in a poor attempt to suppress the pain, and closed his eyes tightly like it would help. “Lead it to the damn toad.” Meta groaned as he backed up, attempting to put distance between him and the piñata. It was a miracle he was lasting this long.

Kirby nodded, gently putting his arm around the chewnicorn’s neck and ushering it to the sick toad, only after pocketing his alertbox again. He tried to tune out Meta Knight’s obvious suffering, but that was why he had to hurry. Even if the chewnicorn was a little slow and nervous. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for the chewnicorn to get to the lickatoad, since it wasn’t too far and the elegant long legs of the piñata made it quite fast. 

“...uh… Do something..” Kirby said, not knowing what Meta Knight wanted them to do. They pointed to the lickatoad, and the chewnicorn huffed, bowing their head to the sick piñata and pointing its horn at it. 

Kirby’s eyes lit up in pure amazement and enthusiasm as they watched the horn of the chewnicorn glow, trying not to squeal as the lickatoad’s color started to come back. 

Once it was done, the piñata scoffed and turned around, flicking its tail as it left. Kirby jumped up and down in place, flailing their hands around and squealing in pure excitement. They stuttered out a mess of incoherent sentences, as the lickatoad became healthy and immediately got scooped up by Kirby in a hug. 

“You’re okay!” The preteen laughed, spinning around and holding onto the frightened toad tightly. Not wanting to be held, if used it’s slippery paper to squirm out of Kirby’s hands and hop away towards the pond. Kirby suddenly remembered Meta Knight, who was now standing up and holding his head. His posture wasn’t nearly as good as it was, and he seemed to be swaying a little. 

Concerned, Kirby quickly walked up to him. “You okay?” 

“...yes..” Meta Knight practically growled at the kid, stabbing his dull sword into the ground for balance. “I just… feel strange,” he mumbled, an unsure tone to his voice.

His head felt like it was throbbing, and he was fighting every instinct that told him to shout and scream at Kirby. “What kinda strange?” Kirby asked, worry in their soft eyes as they tilted their head and reached towards Meta Knight. Their hand only passed through him like a hologram.

“...a strange I haven’t fucking felt before, okay? I don’t know,” he snapped, leaning onto the sword as his mind began to feel foggy. “...sorry…”

“It’s fine!” Kirby said in a cheery voice. Meta Knight cringed. He couldn’t tell if it was at Kirby’s response or the building pain and nausea. 

“...could you go get me some sour candy from my place?” Meta Knight asked, trying to suppress the pain in his pain but failing. He didn’t like asking for help, but  _ god  _ this was too much and he doubted he could bare it for much longer. 

Kirby didn’t hesitate to nod and run off, which Meta Knight watched squinting his eyes. His vision felt.. blurrier than usual. 

...he didn’t feel good. Sure, he was accustomed to feeling ill, but he couldn’t help but fall to his knees as he felt the world spin. This didn’t help his nausea. This didn’t help his headache. His vision only blurred worse as he felt like a knife was slowly hacking away at his skull and his body grew sore. 

“...shit-” Meta Knight’s voice shook as he felt his chest grow tight as a burning pain started to move up his throat. He was all too familiar with the feeling. Letting go of the sword to tear his mask off, he just barely caught himself and held the grass so tightly his knuckles turned white. 

His whole body trembled with pain as the burning feeling and nausea only continued. Black appeared in the corner of his eyes as he fought to keep consciousness. His cape instinctively twitched and twisted into shaking wings, as he poorly tried to cover himself but barely had the strength to lift them, since he was using all of it to stay awake and keep himself from face planting onto the ground. 

He looked up, hoping to see a blurry Kirby rushing towards him with some sour candy that would dull the agony. But instead he could only gag and retch as his vision spun and he got increasingly more dizzy.

It took Kirby longer than they expected to grab the sour candy. There were a lot of sours in the tree, and the sour candies were in a tough to reach spot, but they tried making it back as fast as possible. They nearly froze in place when they saw Meta Knight. He was hunched over, vomiting a black sour substance on the ground, and just from the way he was swaying while on his  _ knees _ and the way his wings were twitching and coiled around him in pain, showed Kirby that this wasn’t the usual sour effects Meta Knight had to deal with. Though it was mostly because of the disgusting amount of the sour substance, and from the way Meta Knight was retching it made it clear to Kirby that this wasn’t right. 

Sour candy wasn’t going to fix whatever was happening. 

(- _ All that sour candy was probably what caused it…-)  _ Kirby figured. 

The kid quickly dropped the candy, tuning out the sounds of Meta Knight struggling. He pulled out his AlertBox quickly typing up an alert for Susie. 

> _ Alert Sent! _
> 
> _ Hi Doc Susie, I’m sorry for bothering you since you’re probably busy but please come over here very very quick there’s a really big problem and idk what to do and youre the best doctor I know so please come now ty <3  _

Once they sent the alert, they kept it in their hands and rushed over to Meta Knight to offer support in any way they knew how. As they ran over, they felt the AlertBox vibrate and they quickly checked it.

> _ Alert! _
> 
> _ From Dr. Haltmann:  _
> 
> _ On my way. Though it’ll cost you extra~! <3 _


	2. I can’t think of funny chapter name <3

“Kirby…” Susie sighed, face palming as the anxious kid stared at her waiting for her to do something. “When you called me over, you could’ve specified that it was Meta Knight of all people.”

“I was panicking!” Kirby cried, sparing a nervous glance towards Meta, who was crouched over still retching. It made his stomach turn just hearing the noise, so he quickly looked back at Susie. “You’re a doctor, you have to help him!”

“I am, but it’s also  _ Meta Knight _ ,” she almost growled, a strong tone of distaste to her voice. 

“I know he’s a jerk, but there’s something wrong with him!” Kirby shouted, angrily stomping his foot and gesturing towards Meta Knight without looking. “I’ll pay you extra, just  _ please _ , help him.” 

Susie sighed, looking towards Meta Knight. He was on the other side of the garden, but a look of surprise morphed on her face as she saw the tar-like substance on the ground around him and the knight’s body trembling as they grew weaker.

“...fine,” she groaned. “Though there’s no way I can bring him back to the clinic, even if you helped…” Susie failed to mention how this was an excuse, and also to avoid getting anywhere near Meta Knight  _ especially  _ since he was puking. Just the thought disgusted her and made her body shiver.

“I’ll send an alert to Dedede! He’s real strong,” Kirby didn’t hesitate to send an alert to the island’s best builder. Susie sighed. Damn it. 

_ Alert Sent! _

_ Hiya, Dedede!!! Something’s going on with Meta and it’s really scary and me and Susie need your help please come quick <3 thank you!!! :) _

“Now we wait!” Kirby said, trying to sound happy, but distress still tinted their voice. The strained and nervous smile on his face didn’t help either. 

“Hm,” Susie nodded, turning to look at Meta Knight once again. His wings twitched with pain as his arms were heavily shaking as he struggled to hold up his body. “...what is that black stuff?” She couldn’t help but ask. 

“Oh.. that.. gross stuff,” Kirby shivered. He didn’t want to say, since it made him uncomfy, but he’d do anything to help Meta Knight. “Uh… I’m not sure.. a few times a day he usually uh.. spits it out, but it's never  _ this  _ bad…. I think it looks like that ‘cause he’s sour-“

“He’s  _ sour _ ?” Susie nearly shouted, surprised. 

“Yeah…?” Kirby awkwardly shuffled, forgetting that it wasn’t something everybody knew.

“ _ How _ ? Only piñatas are capable of being sour!” Susie shouted, a little horrified by the idea of humans having the ability to go sour. 

“I’m not too sure… Nightmare tricked him and did something so now he’s like that,” Kirby spoke quietly as they only got more stressed. Before Susie could ask any questions, he had gotten an alert from Dedede. 

_ Alert! _

_ From Dedede  _

_ Fine. Ya’ owe me though. _

“Dedede’s coming!” Kirby said, looking relieved. 

“Great…” Susie sighed, looking back towards Meta Knight. 

(-A sour human, huh?-)

She couldn’t help but be curious. Being sour was only supposed to exist in piñatas, and that was mostly because of the fact they were made out of candy. 

“Come help me get him ready while we wait for Dedede to get here,” Susie instructed, walking towards MK and pushing down the urge to gag. She was  _ very  _ thankful that she wore a mask that covered her entire face because it was disgusting. 

“What do you mean?” Kirby asked, pocketing the AlertBox and rushing over to her as she got closer to Meta Knight, standing next to him to avoid the sour substance clinging and killing the grass. Meta Knight was completely focused on staying conscious, not even noticing them. 

“Just help him get adjusted so we can take him back to the clinic. I doubt he’ll be able to make it by walking,” Susie sighed, putting a hand on her hip as she kept a short distance from him.

Without missing a beat, Kirby nodded and gave out a firm “okay!” And dashed to the sour knight. 

“Meta Knight!” Kirby shouted, loudly, stepping over the nasty sour stuff and crouching in front of him closely. Meta Knight flinched, wings temporarily snapping open before falling again, and he shakily looked up. Kirby felt bad, and he knew it wasn’t from fear but from pain. Somehow that made the kid feel worse. He’d never seen someone in this much pain. 

“...Kirby,” He growled. He sounded angry, but from the way his voice shook and just how weak and tired he sounded made it difficult to tell. Kirby’s eyes widened, looking at Meta Knight’s face. It had been a while since he had seen it. 

The sour patterns were still as noticeable as they were before, running from his eyes and down his face like tears. Then the inverted colors of his eyes were so unsettling. Kirby’s mouth dropped a little when they saw how the usual bright white of them was now dim. 

“...are you okay?” Kirby asked, knowing the answer already. There was also some of the sour substance dripping from Meta’s mouth. Ew. It was taking a worryingly long for the reaper to respond. 

“Does it look like- I’m okay-?!” Meta Knight snapped at Kirby, attempting to shout but only managing weak and shrill parts of what he wanted to say. His eyes felt so heavy, and he could barely keep himself up anymore. Even after just speaking, he felt so  _ exhausted  _ and heavy.

Meta Knight knew this wasn’t good, but his head felt so clouded and everything was dizzy and blurry, gravity was against him, and he just wanted to scream and hurt Kirby to make himself feel better. He couldn’t tell if he wasn’t because he actually cared about the kid or if it was because he could barely move. He couldn’t tell, everything felt so damn blurry and fast and the ringing in his ears didn’t help. Oh crap- Kirby was talking. He couldn’t help but squint his eyes like that would make him hear better.

“...what?” Meta Knight asked, having to take a moment to breathe. 

“We need to take you to the clinic,” Kirby said, reaching towards Meta Knight to help him up. His hand didn’t even pass through him and Kirby gently grabbed his upper arm. 

“ _ No _ ,” Meta Knight hissed, cringing as his headache got worse as a result of his squinting. He groaned, starting to reach towards his head to hold it, and nearly falling off balance and crashing into the ground. Kirby quickly caught him, helping him adjust his arm back to where it was. 

“We can help,” Susie added, taking a few steps closer to him. “You need it.”

“I’m not taking help from you…” Meta Knight spat, wings weakly dragging along the floor as he coiled them in. “...and what I  _ need _ .. is the fucking sour candy..” It was the only thing that made him feel remotely better that wasn’t lashing out at anyone near him. 

“Nope, you need to get to the damn clinic, right now.”

Meta Knight flinched from the sound of a new voice, nearly dropping himself again. It took a minute for him to recognize who it was, but he realized it was Dedede. Fuck.

He didn’t say anything, but weakly shouted when he felt Dedede start to grab him around the waist. “Let- go of me-“ He tried shouting, but instead gagged and shut his eyes at the extreme dizziness and nausea the movement caused. Dedede picked him up with ease, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

Meta Knight tried to fight, but his wings and his body went limp as he gave up. He was exhausted. He didn’t even know why he was bothering to stay awake anymore. His eyes felt so heavy and he was just so tired. Everything hurt and his head throbbed and he couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Nope. Fuck you. Now let’s get this shit over with so I can go back to my shop. Also if you puke on me I will kill you,” Dedede groaned, adjusting the barely awake reaper on his shoulder so he wouldn’t fall off. “Let’s go.”

“...do you need help with that?” Susie asked, starting to walk to the path leading towards the Village. Thankfully, her clinic wasn’t far from Kirby’s garden. 

“No. He’s lighter than Kirbs,” Dedede exaggerated, an irritated expression on his face. 

Kirby noticed Meta Knight’s mask sitting in the grass. A syrupent who was sniffing it jumped back a little as Kirby snatched it and quickly ran to keep up with Susie and Dedede. 

Kirby walked behind Dedede, and looked at Meta Knight. It still felt off seeing his face, since a mask in Piñata Island made one’s identity. Sure, you could take it off, but it was only meant for the closest ones to them to see. If that wasn’t enough, the way Meta Knight was starting to lose consciousness showed on his face through his half lidded eyes and how his head kept falling then slowly turning back up. It was scary. 

“Here,” Kirby whispered, holding out the mask near one of Meta Knight’s limp hands. He made no effort to take it. 

Kirby frowned, holding onto it and speeding up to walk next to Susie. He couldn’t help but look at the mask, a concerned expression on their face as they thought. 

~ || • || ~ 

“Put him on the exam table, please,” Susie instructed, ignoring Dedede’s annoying and dramatic sigh as he put the now-unconscious reaper down. Kirby closed the small room’s door behind him, stepped over one of Meta’s wings, and sat down in one of the waiting chairs pushed to the back of the exam room. He anxiously fiddled with his fingers as he waited. 

“...very roomy in here,” Dedede grumbled, taking a step back from the examination table and leaning against the wall. The room was very cramped, and not like an emergency or hospital room he imagined. 

“Sorry that it doesn’t meet your expectations, but equipment is very expensive to get shipped in and I need to focus my budget on my garden and supplies. We’ll just have to make do,” Susie sarcastically muttered, grabbing some paper and a pen. She turned around to face the group and frowned under her mask. “...why isn’t he sitting up?”

“‘cause you told me to put ‘im on the table,” Dedede responded, voice low. 

Susie groaned, setting the paper and pen down and walking over to Meta, face disgusted as he sat his unconscious body up. “Well, he was vomiting a damn lot earlier and if he pukes while laying down like that, he could choke.” 

“...oh,” Dedede mumbled, looking a little ashamed.

As Susie pulled her hair into a bun, she started to speak again. “Kirby, could you pass me the trash can?” 

“Yes!” Kirby stuttered out, nearly tripping over Meta’s wing as he ran to the other side of the room, grabbed the trash can, and handed it to Susie.

“Thank you,” she nodded, setting it on the counter within Meta’s reach just in case. 

“So what d’ya thinks wrong with him?” Dedede asked, a slight tone shift of worry tinting his voice. Kirby stepped over Meta’s wing again to sit back down, and leaned in to listen a little better. 

“Truthfully, I have no idea,” Susie sighed. “I don’t even know where to start. Especially since he’s sour and not human,” Susie tapped the pen against the counter, at a loss of what to do. 

“He’s still human!” Dedede suddenly shouted, causing Kirby to flinch from surprise and Susie to look at him, unimpressed. 

“Not entirely. And I only know how to do entire humans and piñatas. And even then, I’m still not a surgeon or anywhere near that,” Susie muttered, leaning against the counter. 

“...maybe check his temperature? I remember you did that for me when I felt funny,” Kirby quietly suggested, clearly stressed and tense. Dedede and Susie looked at eachother. They needed to be better. Even if they weren’t fond of Meta Knight (or in Dedede’s case, what Meta Knight had become), they still greatly cared for Kirby and seeing them this far from their usual happy self hurt. 

“Alright. Good idea, Kirby.” Susie nodded, and crouched down to take out a temperature gun from the cabinet. 

“Yeah, good job, Kirbs,” Dedede smiled at the kid, lightly patting their back. He breathed a sigh of relief when Kirby smiled at him. 

Susie closed the cabinet and quickly turned on the temperature gun, stepping over the knight’s wing to get closer to his face. She tried to ignore the unnerving sour markings as she scanned his forehead. 

“Oh,” Susie whispered as her eyes widened.

“What?” Dedede asked, approaching her as his tone immediately filled with concern. Kirby sat up and their smile fell as they read the tone of the room. “What does it say?” Dedede repeated.

“26 degrees Celsius,” Susie mumbled. 

“ _ What _ ?” Dedede whispered. “Give me that-“ Dedede snatched the temperature gun from Susie’s hand, earning a deadly glare from her. It did indeed say 26 degrees Celsius, and Dedede handed it back. “That has to be busted.”

“It’s not,” Susie said, quickly scanning Dedede’s forehead. She paused and looked at it. “38 degrees Celsius,” she read. 

Frustrated, the builder shook his head and walked closer to Meta Knight, taking off one of his gloves. His hands were a little blistered, and he felt Meta’s forehead. He pulled his hand back quickly, eyes wide at how cold it felt. 

“Is he okay?” Kirby asked. Susie and Dedede looked at the kid, then at each other, mentally debating what to say. 

“Er…” Susie struggled to start, so Dedede jumped in instead.

“Yes! Yes- yes he’s fi- the temperature is okay,” Dedede struggled to say. Kirby gave him a skeptical look, but nodded and turned their head to Meta instead. Susie grabbed Dedede’s arm with a firm grip and dragged him to the corner of the room. 

“Is he even  _ alive _ ?” Dedede whispered, leaning closer to Susie, who glanced towards Meta. 

“...yes. His chest is rising and falling, so he’s breathing,” Susie answered, keeping her voice quiet. 

“Okay- okay,” Dedede anxiously ran his hand through his hair. “Uh- what’s next?” 

Susie shrugged. “I’m… honestly not sure. Obviously his body operates completely differently from ours. And if I do want to figure out exactly what’s wrong with him then he’ll need to be awake so I can ask questions.”

“Is there any way you can wake him up?” Dedede asked.

“I have smelling salts!” Susie suddenly remembered, quickly opening a cabinet and starting to shuffle through supplies and equipment. 

“...and why do you have smelling salts?” Dedede asked, a little surprised. 

“One: because they wake people up when they’ve fainted, and two: How do you think I’m available during night?” Susie pulled out an open box and shook it until one fell into the palm of her hand. 

Dedede thought at her answer. “How much do they cost?”

“More than you can afford,” Susie huffed, earning a glare from Dedede and walking back over to Meta Knight. 

“What’s that?” Kirby asked, curious by the white tube package in Susie’s hands. 

“A smelling salt. It wakes people up. Watch,” Susie grinned under her mask. A quiet snap was heard as she broke it in half, and cautiously held it a few inches from Meta Knight’s nose. 

After a few seconds of nothing, suddenly Meta Knight jerked back, gasping, and hitting his head on the back of the exam table. Kirby and Dedede shouted, nearly getting hit by Meta’s wings quickly jumped up and fell back down again. Susie jumped back as well, gasping a little as Meta nearly hit her as he tried to cover his nose. 

He groaned, wincing in pain from the impact and just the flush of pain that came flooding back. His body felt so sore, his chest was so  _ tight _ , and now whatever the fuck he just inhaled was  _ awful.  _ His head was still spinning despite his tightly shut eyes, his entire body and especially head throbbed with pain, and he could feel that burning feeling crawling up his throat again. 

Not even having the time to really process anything that was going on until he started gagging again, Susie quickly handed him the trash can and he took it without a thought, basically curling up as he retched until he vomited. 

Kirby cringed, curling up a little and covering their ears so they couldn’t hear it, Dedede looked to the wall, not wanting to watch and shoved the fluffy parts of his coat up to his ears, trying not to gag himself, and Susie looked away and leaned against the counter, waiting. 

It felt like forever, when in reality it was three minutes. No breaks or moments for Meta Knight to even catch his breath. 

When he finished, he relaxed. Not because he was calm, but because he had already exhausted himself and used up his strength. He had a weak grip on the trash can, which Susie took out of his hands. He didn’t even notice he was so focused on trying to get his wheezing and raspy breaths back to normal. 

Dedede and Kirby looked at eachother, exchanging a concerned glance, before looking back at Meta Knight. Neither said anything.

“Here,” Susie said, her tone firm as she held out a napkin for Meta to take. 

He stared straight through it for a few moments, before what was happening clicked. Instead of taking the napkin, he looked around, eyes scarily dim and a far away look to their eyes. After a scary amount of time, he spoke. 

“....wha…” was all he could say, his voice raspy and weak. It sounded nothing like how he usually spoke. He normally spoke with so much anger, confidence, and cockiness. This was as far from it as possible. It worried Kirby a lot. 

“You’re in the clinic,” Susie stated, her tone suddenly calm and professional. “Take the napkin, clean whatever that is off your chin.” It took a few seconds before he looked at her-  _ no _ , not at her,  _ through  _ her- completely lost and confused. The bridge of his nose scrunched up a little, either from the lasting scent of the smelling salts, or frustration from the lingering pain and blurry mind.

“I think he’s still half asleep,” Dedede stepped in, standing next to Susie. A look of pity formed on his face as Meta groaned in pain, gripping his hair weakly as his headache suddenly spiked. 

“...hopefully,” Susie mumbled, taking a step back from him. “We’ll wait a few minutes until he can't process things better.  _ Then _ , we’ll see what we can do from there.”


	3. Mets Knight acts like a brat for 2K words

“Enough time has passed. Are you ready for those questions, now?” Susie asked, grabbing the paper and pen she had before. Meta Knight squinted at her, thinking for quite a few moments.

“...no,” he quietly said, scoffing and looking at the ceiling. Dedede narrowed his eyes at Meta Knight, irritated, but the reaper didn’t notice.

“And why not?” Dedede grumbled before Susie could say anything. Another uncomfortable silence as Meta Knight’s wings twitched as he thought. Every now and then he’d shiver, twitch, or wince as a stronger sting of pain hit. 

“Because…” Meta Knight finally started, pressing his head on his forehead and hitting it with the palm of his hand a few times. “...why should I? Why should I trust you?” He lazily pointed at Susie with his free hand, and his mouth weakly pulled into a smirk. “After all,  _ I’m  _ the one keeping you from doing your job.”

“Yes. You are,” Susie glared at him, frustrated. “But you’re also my patient, and I’m your doctor. I’m going to ask you questions and you will answer honestly.”

Meta Knight paused, wincing and hissing in pain as he felt a strong sting of pain from his head. “Or what?” He chuckled, quickly going back to like nothing happened. He looked at the three watching him, his eyes still looking distant and tired. Something was still wrong. “I’m untouchable,” Meta Knight laughed, the laugh forced and raspy. It reminded Dedede of nails on a chalkboard. 

Susie rolled her eyes, huffing and ignoring him. “What hurts?”

Meta Knight responded by sticking his tongue out at her and chuckling to himself. Dedede raised a brow, a little surprised by the action. It was surprisingly childish. Kirby seemed to notice too, eyes widening a little. 

“Ugh. Fine, we’ll get to that later,” Susie wrote something on the paper. “What symptoms are you experiencing?” 

“Awfully torturing boredom.” Dedede facepalmed at Meta’s drawn out response. Susie sighed, scribbling on the paper again. 

“How long has this been going on?” She asked in an unamused tone. 

“Hm? Oh,” Meta Knight slowly blinked, a lot of confusion in his voice. “I’ll let you guess.” Another irritated sigh from Susie. 

“Has the pain been getting better or worse?” 

“These questions are so stupid.”

“Do you smoke, take any recreational drugs, drink alcohol, and if so, how often?” 

“...what?”

“Any family history of what’s happening to you now?”

“Next.”

“Do you take any medicine or supplements?”

“Everything would be fixed if I had some sour candy.”

The questions continued, with no helpful answers. While everyone was either frustrated or unimpressed, Meta Knight seemed to be entertaining himself, even if every chuckle just hurt him a little more. Despite how blurry his mind felt, he wouldn’t stop. It’s always helped before, so there was no reason it wouldn’t help now. 

Susie walked over to Meta Knight, and in her monotone customer service voice, asked, “Does it hurt if I push here?”

“What-“ Meta Knight leaned back, glaring at Susie as she reached for his side. 

“I’m required to do this, just let me get this over with,” Susie sighed, not noticing how when Meta Knight weakly shuffled to the edge of the exam table, he pulled back his leg. 

Dedede and Kirby noticed though, with Kirby quickly grabbing Meta Knight’s leg and Dedede yanking Susie back by her coat. Susie just narrowly missed Meta Knight attempting to kick her. 

“Don’t  _ fucking  _ touch me,” he growled, words slurring together slightly. 

“Meta!” Kirby shouted, only getting Meta Knight angrily and sloppily pushing the young kid off his leg, nearly falling off the table in the process. 

Susie dusted herself off, glaring at the angry reaper. “ _ Listen _ , Meta Knight. I’m not in the damn mood for this. You’re lucky I’m even helping you.”

It took a few moments for Meta Knight to process what she said. “Good… then let me leave. All I need is some sour candy and everything will stop hurting.” Dedede's eyes widened as he got an idea. 

“...everything as in your entire body or just everything hurting?” He quickly asked, hoping Meta Knight would take the bait. 

“...everything as in my entire body, dumbass,” Meta Knight scoffed, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his head a little. He groaned and curled in a little as his stomach pains got worse. Dedede elbowed Susie, who realized and quickly wrote that down. 

“...why is it so bad, now? Usually you’re strong and epic and can handle it so awesomely! Does it not usually hurt this long and this bad?” Kirby realized what the two were doing and joined in, trying to help. 

Meta Knight thought for a moment, hissing in pain a little before suddenly shouting, voice shrill and raspy. “Of fucking course not! The fucking headaches are constant, but the vomit is only a few times a day and not nearly this… painful.”

The next few hours were rough. They mostly consisted of Kirby, Dedede, and Susie trying to pry answers from Meta Knight without making it too obvious. Whenever they were too obvious, he’d snap at them or give a blatant and obvious lie. By the time the most important questions were answered, it was dark out and Meta Knight seemed to only act more strange and his eyes somehow seemed even more distant. Whenever he looked at someone, it was like he was staring through them. And even then, he struggled to keep his focus for long. It was frustrating and exhausting for everyone on all sides. 

“So, next is the physical stuff.” Susie sighed, exhausted after writing down the last of the info. Meta Knight narrowed his eyes at her, trying to understand what she said. “So you’ll need to take off your cape, shoulder pads, bands, anything that isn’t excessive-“

“ _ No _ ,” Meta Knight snarled with sudden ferocity, despite how weak and light-headed he felt.

“But you need to if you want to feel better!” Kirby said, trying to convince him like it would work and Meta Knight was capable of reason at this point. 

“C’mon, Meta. We’re all tired and want to get this over with,” Dedede tried as well. He frowned as he saw Meta Knight’s wings struggle to shift back to his cape, which he protectively hugged around himself. 

“...I can’t…” Meta Knight butterfly mumbled after a minute or two of struggling to process anything. 

“Why not?!” Dedede suddenly shouted. 

Meta Knight paused, expression morpho into less of one of confusion and more into one of discomfort and paranoia. “I’m.. not supposed to take them off. I can’t,” his words were slow and slurring together as panic rose. “I… have to play my role… it all hurts so  _ badly  _ when I don’t…  _ he  _ gave me these for my role… i can’t…”

There was a tense moment of silence as everybody tried to take in what Meta Knight just said. They all quickly connected the dots to “he” being Nightmare, but it was so sudden and out of nowhere. “He’s delirious,” Susie whispered to Dedede, who nodded. 

“We can protect you!” Kirby suddenly said, getting a confused glance from Meta Knight. 

“....I asked for help the first time..” Meta Knight bitterly mumbled to himself, body tensing as he remembered. He didn’t even think about how he remembered. His stomach twisted into knots and throat felt tight as memories resurfaced. “...nobody came.” 

Dedede felt his gut wrench at that, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He walked up closer to Meta Knight, a determined look on his face. “I’m here now.”

It took a concerningly long moment for Meta Knight to process what Dedede was saying, but once he did he gave them a glance with empty eyes and a hurt expression. He glanced towards Susie next, who only nodded. 

“You’ll also get it back once I’m done,” Susie added. 

Meta Knight yawned as he thought about it. It was hard to think about, with everything feeling so strange and uncanny. He rubbed his head a little. “...fine..” he grumbled, slowly taking off what wasn’t needed. 

“I’ll start out with your heartbeat and pulse,” Susie said, taking out her stethoscope from underneath her coat and stepping towards Meta Knight. She stood next to the exam table, cautiously moving the diaphragm to Meta Knight’s chest to hear his heartbeat. He leaned back a little, glaring at her and suddenly got ready to push her away. Dedede and Kirby moved quickly, Kirby grabbing his legs and Dedede grabbed his arms.

“Stop-“ Meta Knight angrily shouted, weakly trying to break free. He failed due to his lack of energy and strength. 

“This is what happens when you’re a jerk!” Kirby said, keeping a surprisingly strong hold on Meta Knight’s legs. 

“Chill out, dude,” Dedede grumbled, holding back Meta’s arms without trying. Meta Knight hissed in the pain, the angle the two were holding them at stung a lot, and didn’t help his sore stomach. Susie rolled her eyes at the group, continuing with her job so she could get it over with. 

She started moving the diaphragm around his chest where his heart would be, in an attempt to find his heart beat. “What the fuck?” Susie said, clearly lost as she struggled. 

“What?” Dedede asked, still holding Meta Knight’s arms. He glared at the reaper once they weakly tried to tug their arm away from Dedede. 

“Give me his wrist,” Susie instructed, which Dedede followed. Of course, Meta weakly tried to fight and failed as Susie grabbed it tightly and pushed the blue sleeve of his wearer up so she could better see his wrist. She couldn’t help but drag her finger across the sour patterns running down his arm. It was fascinating. 

“Focus, Susie,” Dedede reminded the doctor, who nodded. 

“Of course,” she said, then pressed two fingers on his cold skin where his pulse is. Or would be. She muttered “what the hell” underneath her breath as she struggled to find it. She handed his wrist back to Dedede, and ignored Meta Knight wincing and groaning in pain. 

“Well. There’s no pulse and no heartbeat,” Susie said, her voice confused yet fascinated. Dedede gave her a weird look. 

Suddenly, Meta Knight looked horrified and almost scared. 

“You alright?” Kirby quietly asked him, yet still holding his legs tightly. 

“...I… I can’t phase through anything,” he quietly mumbled, sounding surprised. 

“Good,” Dedede bitterly responded, as Kirby looked a little worried. Dedede looked towards Susie. “What’s next?”

“Nothing!” The doctor chirped a lie. Dedede gave her a suspicious look and dropped Meta’s arms, but he got pulled to the corner of the room before he could say anything. 

“I’m planning to do the rest when Meta Knight is asleep so it’s easier. Especially since it’s late,” Susie gestured to Kirby, who wasn’t paying attention and who had dropped Meta Knight’s legs and yawned. They looked very tired. 

“Got it,” Dedede nodded, walking over to Kirby and putting his hand on their back. “C’mon kid. It’s gettin’ late and it’s time to go.”

“But-“ Kirby started, looking towards Meta Knight, worried. 

“I’m not taking any protests, Kirbs. You’re still young and need all ‘da sleep you can get,” Dedede started to lead Kirby out of the room. 

“...it’s cold,” Meta Knight mumbled to himself, shivering without the rest of his clothing. He had his thin blue sweater, his torn and dirty pants, and boots but that was about it. 

Dedede gave him a look of pity, before sighing. “Puke on this and I’ll kill you,” Dedede said, leaning very close to Meta Knight and taking off his fluffy coat and then handing it to Meta Knight. 

The reaper stared at it then Dedede, eyes looking just as distant and dim as before, before hesitantly taking it. He then chuckled. “Your face is nice,” his words slurring together almost incomprehensibly, as he put on the coat. It felt familiar to him, and he couldn’t help but hold it close to himself. Dedede stared in shock, confused and a slight red tint appeared on his cheeks. He turned to Kirby. “C’mon, let’s go,” Dedede huffed. 

Kirby nodded with a yawn, but couldn’t help but look at Meta Knight as they left. He still carried Meta Knight’s mask with him, as they rubbed their eye and left with Dedede.

Meta Knight turned to Susie, yawning himself. “Does this mean I get to go?” His words started to slur again and his voice was weak. 

“No. You’re still sick and until i can find a way to help you, you’re stuck here,” Susie huffed, closing the door behind the two and turning back to Meta Knight. 

“But I’m fine,” Meta Knight argued. “I haven’t even vomited in a-“ he cut himself off with a gag. Susie raised a brow, before sighing and handing him the trash can again. 

~ || • || ~ 

It took a few more hours until Meta Knight actually fell asleep. Then Susie got to work. Of course, she did the regular physical procedure, which she finished very quickly and put Dedede’s coat back on Meta once she was done. After she was done with the test, she couldn’t help but start investigating Meta Knight a little more. 

She took a blood sample, curiously looking at it. It appeared to be the same material as the vomit, which was a little worrying. She also tried examining the cape which was still thrown off into the side of the room, curious on how it could shift into wings, and was a little disappointed when she found out it was just regular fabric.

This went on for a few more hours, as she was curious to learn more about a human sour. Every now and then Meta Knight would stir or mumble something in his sleep, then hold on tighter to the coat, but Susie didn’t pay too much attention to that as she worked. 

Eventually, she got more curious about the markings. She rolled up his sleeves and inspected the patterns. As she looked closer, they were nearly identical to those of a sour piñata. 

“Sort of like a sour profitamole or mallowolf.. not a lot like a sour bonboon,” she mumbled to herself, feeling the markings with her hands. It felt like regular skin, though instead of being a harsh black on red like sour piñatas it was more of a light brown, similar to a birthmark. 

She walked over to the other side of the exam table, rolling up his sleeves on the other arm. “...huh,” she mumbled to himself, his other arm having a much different pattern, but still being easily recognizable as sour. Though that wasn’t what surprised her. The other arm’s pattern was much paler and more blended with his skin.

Susie yawned, getting a little tired and looking at the clock in the room. 5AM. She sighed, figuring she should probably get to bed. She stayed up last night too, so it’s best she went to bed tonight. 


End file.
